A mass of black hair was on the other end of the arm gently tapping the sleeping first year to wake her. “Mmmm, I couldn’t sleep upstairs. Thank you for getting me up.”

“No problem. Now, come on you need to get ready for breakfast.”

The smile that could be seen on Jenifer’s face soon disappeared when she saw who had woken her. Sirius Black. She took no time in getting from the sofa and heading up the girl’s dormitory staircase to change. She would not be talking to Sirius Black. Ever!! – if she could help it.

“Morning,” yawned Lily who had just come out from the bathroom. “Where have you been all night?”

“I slept in the common room. Couldn’t get comfortable up here. Sorry, were you worried?”

“Just a bit. I knew you’d be around here somewhere.”

It didn’t take long for the girls to change and head down to breakfast. Jenifer was a bit hesitant at first, fearing she would bump into Sirius again but it seemed that luck was partially on her side. He was nowhere to be seen thankfully.

The stairs were half filled with other tired looking students heading down to breakfast. Jennifer wasn’t surprised, having seen the early time on the clock before she left the common room.

Entering the Great Hall Lily and Jenifer sat at the end of the table away from the other Gryffindor early risers. Failing miserably to not look in their direction, she noticed James, Remus and Sirius sitting at the other end of the table filling their mouths with a surprisingly large amount of food. The small voice in her head reminded her to try harder to ignore Sirius. Bringing attention to herself could cause her more problems which she did not need. She would not let herself be friends with him again.

He would never understand.

“. . . you want for breakfast?”

“Huh?! Oh sorry Lily I just drifted off a bit. Not enough sleep. What did you say?”

“What do you want for breakfast?”

Older students started to exit the Great Hall as the thrill wasn’t there for them after being at the school for a couple of years. Instead they went to chat with friends and sunbathe by the lake as the sun gleamed like a burning flame for everyone today. Breakfast passed quickly for the two girls too, leading them to change and head out to the grounds to sunbathe. Lily in her bikini, a green crop top and a summery skirt and Jenifer in her bikini, new denim shorts and a bright canary yellow boob tube.

Getting distracted by Sirius who had seeked shade under a large beech tree with his friends Jenifer again failed to look inconspicuous. Snapping her head around as he turned his head to look in her direction, she knew he had seen her; their eyes had met for a brief second giving her away. He muttered something to the crowd around him and made his way in the direction of his two fellow Gryffindor’s.

She would ignore him. Play dumb. He wouldn’t be able to do anything with Lily sitting beside her. “Oh, I just remembered – I promised I would let my parents know when I got here safely. I’ll be right back!”

Her eyes widened. Was Lily about to abandon her in her time of need already?

“Hey.” It was a slight whisper but loud enough for her to hear. She flinched; an immediate reaction to the sadness in his voice. She was causing him pain, something she never wanted to do but it was a rule. And she always played by the rules. Even this once? Maybe she could bend them to make him happy.

“Hi. How are you?”

“Could be better, you know. You see, there’s this girl that used to come round my house to play every weekend since we were little. One day, I waited for her to come as usual but I ended up waiting the whole day until I finally realised that she wasn’t going to show up. I lost my best friend that day you know.”

“I’m sure she had her reasons and feels terribly sorry for what she put you through. I know I would have if it was me.” She refused to make eye contact, fearing the power he would have over her if she took a look into his gorgeous grey eyes. “This girl – she meant a lot to you?”

“Yes. I loved her. She was my best friend. I could tell her anything!” He stepped forward using the nickname that caused her to go weak at the knees. She loved it: “Jen?”

Her gut retched. This is why she couldn’t see him anymore. Their relationship had never been balanced. He had put so much in, willing to tell her anything and everything but Jen – she had to keep the most important thing about her from him. How was that fair? “I’m sorry about your friend. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go and get something from my dormitory.” Jen’s eyes pleaded with his as she tore them away and headed towards the castle.

“Mate what was that all about?” James had seen what had gone on between Jennifer and Sirius. He had a feeling there was more to it than what Sirius had let on so far.

Sirius sighed. “I grew up with her. With both of our parents being pureblood maniacs, we were forced together. I think they even hoped that when we were old enough we would get married. It has never been like that though – we were best friends. Then one day she didn’t turn up and I haven’t seen her since until yesterday.”

“Ahh, I’m sorry mate. She’ll come round soon.”With one last pat on the shoulder, James stood and left his best friend of one day to his thoughts. Remus followed as he knew time on his own was what he needed.

----

“Lily? What took you so long owling your parents?” Jenifer asked when she entered the common room finding her first friend at Hogwarts sitting on the sofa talking to a girl they shared their dorm with. Her brown curly hair fell down her back, framing her beautiful face and bringing out her hazel eyes. “This is Tess. We got talking when I came to put some warmer clothes on. I figured you’d be back here soon.”

The girl named Tess stood and waved to Jenifer. “Hi. It’s really nice to meet you and Lily. None of the other girls have really spoken to me.”

Jen nodded her head. She could see they were going to get along as she introduced herself also. “Come on let’s get to lunch before all the food’s gone.”

Finishing lunch and soon dinner, all students seemed to fan out to their common rooms as a thunderstorm seemed to have hovered over the castle. Sirius seemed to have got the idea, staying away from Jen whilst being close to each other on the sofas. Jen felt a wash of relief, though she wished she could stop acting cold with him. She just wanted her friend back.

Tess had provided a good distraction as Lily and Jenifer got to know her more, learning that she had grown up with James, much to Lily’s disappointment. “You poor, poor thing having to put up with that for eleven years of your life. It must have been awful for you.”

Tess nodded to play along, sneaking a quick wink Jen’s way. They could tell they were going to have some fun with this. Lily was sure to like him soon and have to face the embarrassment of admitting it. The girls stifled a giggle so as to not give Tess’ sarcasm away.

“Mmmm, terrible.”

This time the laughter couldn’t be held in. “Oh, what’s so funny Jenifer?” Tess over emphasised the question, trying to suppress a smile.

“What? Me, laughing? I wasn’t laughing was I?”

-----

That night as Jenifer tried to sleep in her bed which would be hers for the next year, she made a decision about the students that she had noticed around Hogwarts that day. There was a very unattractive kind of snobbery about Hogwarts’ social life – the snobbery of success.

Amazing chapter image by Anna_Black @ TDA

I am looking for a beta so if anyone is interested please contact me. Thank you so much everyone ")